Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Best Deck Sealer ?

I'm having a Deck made out of Larch Wood ....which I think is also called Tamarack . I have heard it called " poor mans Cherry " . I'm told this wood can be Sealed with a Clear Coat about 2 weeks after it is built . I have also been told that stuff like Thompsons is not that great . Is there any Deck Sealer out there which will hold up to rain and snow and last more than 2 or 3 years ?

The best will be Sikkens. It will be $$ for a 5 gallon pail. I use Flood deck stain, and put on a minimum of 4 coats to get started. 100+ inches of rain in my parts.

+1 on the Sikkens. Thompsons is junk.

I asked a painter that very question a month ago. He likes Sikkens and another brand starting with "W" - if I think of it I'll edit the post.
Just be advised that there is a translucent and a semi-transparent version. The later has more pigment which may cover more of the grain you might see.
The darker the color the less grain you can see. In Minnysoda he said a good coat of Sikkens will last 3 years.
Good luck.

Calvin , I found some Sikkens Cetol DEK Finish which costs $69 per Gallon . I guess Quality costs ...ouch ! Bigwhoop , I found two Brands beginning with W ....Wolman and Woodsman . Consumers Mag. rates Home Depots Behr Premium Semitransparent Stain as good for 2 years .... at $37 per Gallon .

Okay, way more than you are asking, but I this is one of my absolute favorite woods for a bunch of reasons. My grandfather's farm was the "Lone Tamarack Farm" in NY, very close to Danbury, CT.

Western Larch and Tamarack are very closely related and look very similar in hand... but there is a huge difference between the two trees and the lumber coming from them. In both cases the wood is quite heavy, about the same as dense walnut.

Reading about the uses and properties in the static, textbook language there is not a lot of difference between them. In the real world there are huge differences!

At the turn of the previous century there was a huge industry in central Alaska cutting select Larch on hillsides where the bole was seriously bent. The trees were split to produce equal arches which were used for boat (ship) ribs and stems. While the books only show larch and tamarack as moderately decay resistant the conditions in boat building happen to be exactly the best conditions for them to shine and they proved to be very decay resistant in boats.

Which is a good thing in wetter climates when used as a deck...

When it comes to strength the differences between tamarack and larch are stark. Most woods at equal density and similar wood types perform about the same. Not so with these two. Larch is far stronger, harder, tougher, and resilient than tamarack.

The shorter growing season surely plays a big part as it keeps the annual rings tight and tiny.

The one thing to watch for when getting the wood is the type of cut. Larch is not a huge tree and the growth rings are pretty small (tight) and the connecting strength between the rings is not as solid as some other species. In other words it splits fairly easily... So look for decking that is as close to quarter-sawn as possible. That means annual rings are as close to perpendicular to the wide face of the decking as possible.

That will mean they are very narrow and the late growth (denser) wood will protect the softer early wood. It makes really good decking if cut right... actually, about as good as it comes.

I prefer to see it pre-drilled for the best results, but that obviously costs a lot of time...

Oh yeah, a huge difference between the two woods... Woods have very different characteristics from species to species. A perfect example is bigleaf maple which is generally pretty light and soft when compared to hard maples and walnut. Walnuts are about as tough and hard as you can find for their density yet bigleaf is one of the few woods in the World which is stronger, tougher, and more resilient in virtually every mechanical test when pieces of equal density are compared.

And the point I was headed for was the concept of wood quality based on the amount of "wood" in the wood (density) and the quality of the wood in the wood. Far less than 1% of the World's woods are even close to being decent stock woods... and all other purposes and uses may be considered based on the possible use as a stock wood.

Tamarack is not nearly as hard as larch even when it is quite a bit more dense

Now to the actual question on the best finish... where you live makes a huge difference in deciding which is the best finish. In Calvin's case he has exactly the best finish for his climate, nothing else is really close.

It would be a bad choice for AZ... it costs too much and has the wrong set of properties for arid conditions where wood simply does not rot, but erodes.

Another mindset to drop is the idea about finish lifespan... the climate will decide that for you. In general, a good coat the first year, a quick coat the second and third years will probably buy you a couple years before another quick coat is needed. Again, your climate is the huge question.

A single application in year one will not be likely to give you true protection for three years.

An insecticide spray rig makes a great applicator for decking finish. Just spray it like bug spray and back-roll. A huge deck can be done very quickly...

Thin it a great deal if you see a built finish. It saves money and only puts out enough finish to make sense.

More specifics in a minute.

Thompson's is a horrible joke and suited only to climates where no finish is needed... on woods that do not rot and are hard as nails.

Behr made some very good products and had idiots design the application schedules. They almost went under as a result.

The best finishes do not come easily... look at the application schedules and much will become very clear. If brushes are mentioned realize they tested the finish after an extremely thorough application and to get their promised results you need to do the same.

few contractors will have you (or them) paint the finish on all sides of the lumber before it is installed... yet they will tell you to test the wood before finishing by wetting it to see if it absorbs water. They want the wood wet to limit uptake so their schedules can be met and their very expensive finish is not over-applied...

Many major retailers have their special blends of finish manufactured under their label though they are generally identical to one of their standard products. If not identical they are usually inferior...

Because the OP mentioned snow I will guess the conditions are typical mid-West and relatively dry (compared to SE AK) and not incredibly hot. And I would suggest using a local brand stain from a quality paint shop and applying it very carefully for the first coat.

My general observation with decks is the snow/rain freeze/thaw cycle is the toughest condition for a deck followed by the hot direct sun then rain. I have a small deck and one of the winter prep, for winter, items is to cover with plywood. This also protects the deck from the damage caused by snow removal. My preference is a concrete patio over any wood deck mainly because I dislike the maintenance a wood deck requires

Rain and snow are your enemy but UV damage is be considered as well.

Stay away from the big box store products if quality is your goal.

Cabot is what you want.

http://www.cabotstain.com/products/product/Australian-Timber-Oil.html

I'd drink a bucket of bleach before I'd use anything else.

Here's a pic of our solid mahogany $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ deck.

Under any conditions that finish is a good one, especially for drier climates when properly applied. It is low on pigments and will require more care. Application is a lot more work with this product and not the best for amateur painters.

On a Louisiana houseboat front porch deck and on the adjacent floating dock (all of it treated lumber), I swashed on a 5 gal pail of hydraulic oil w/reddish tint. That was 11 yrs ago and still no cracks or splits. A friend told me about this and showed me some pics of a 6' slat fence that he'd done it to. fwiw.

Also heard about Cabot and all of it good.

Sickens....hands down. Follow directions!!! Must be brushed on but very well worth the cost,time, and effort. No comparison to any other products.

What about prepping for later maintenance? What about the extra sanding or chemical prep if a finish layer has been built?

There is a lot more to the question and no one finish is the perfect answer to every question...

Trusting the recommendations here for best.

I am very certain Rust-Oleum 10X is by far and away the worst.

Has anyone checked out these permeant decking sealers?They look like rhino truck bed liner material.Don,t know the name of the stuff but it looked pretty impressive.

Hmmm, I'm not afraid of a little extra elbow grease and I definitely fall into the amateur category. A good carefully applied yearly program produced stellar results.

I did have to read the directions on the label 3 times though. My point being that the easy way out is not always the best way to protect a sizable investment.

Exactly the right way to look at it!

We have a nice 16x20 cedar deck with cedar benches and tables that all get plenty of abuse. I'd definitely 2nd tbe Cabots recommendation. By far the best we've ever used....

We applied it on areas that get fully covered in snow and sit so all winter long here in north Idaho. It has been on for six years and looks as it did when new. We just applied some on a stairway that sees similar service. Great stuff.

Plus one vote for Cabot